"You can't just be going and throwing what could have been such a promising innings" - Ricky Ponting on Rohit Sharma
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has opined that if Rohit Sharma wants to be successful in Tests, he cannot afford to gift his wicket after an encouraging start.
Rohit looked in great touch on day two of the 4th Test against Australia at the Gabba. But what looked like a rash shot to play at the time, the Indian vice-captain got out trying to clear the boundary against Nathan Lyon.
Ricky Ponting said that even if that is Rohit's batting style, he needs to do it better.
"It's easy to say that's the way he plays but you've got to be better than that," Ponting was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia.
"If you want to be a really good, consistent Test match batsman you can't just be going and throwing what could have been such a promising innings away like he did," he added.
Ponting further revealed that Australia had a plan in place to deceive Rohit, and he fell into the trap.
"He got to 44 comfortably, everything seemed to be hitting the middle of the bat, he just started to play some nice drives down the ground," Ponting said.
"And the trap was set for him as well, that mid-on fieldsman was three-quarters of the way back, there was also a deep forward square leg, so what Rohit was thinking there we'll never know. I'm sure Rohit would love to have his time over again," he added.
Rohit Sharma wants to fulfill the role given to him by the team management
During a virtual press conference at the end of Day 2, Rohit Sharma spoke about how the team has shown confidence in his abilities despite inexperience in the longest format of the game.
"It's only three innings, of course, I have opened in India in the limited-overs format, it is time for me to test myself in the longer format as well, the team has shown a lot of confidence in my ability at the top," Rohit said
"I have to do what the team expects me to do, I don't need to worry about what happens outside. The team expects me to play a certain role at the top of the order and I will try to do it as much as I can," he added.
During the conference, Rohit also said that he spent time analysing how to tackle the Aussie bowlers while he was serving his quarantine period.
"You have to try to figure out how to score runs against these guys, they do not give anything so easily," he said.
Rohit Sharma's wicket hands Australia the advantage on day 2
Rohit Sharma looked in exquisite touch on day 2 of the Test. The Indian vice-captain was middling the ball perfectly and scoring runs at ease. Everyone, including Rohit Sharma himself, would have expected him to score big on a bouncy Gabba track that favours his batting technique.
Rohit throwing his wicket away, however, turned the odds in the favour of the Australians.